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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29132436">Beltane</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyugapineapple/pseuds/hyugapineapple'>hyugapineapple</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Magic, Celtic Mythology &amp; Folklore, Demon Summoning, Fae &amp; Fairies, Japanese Mythology &amp; Folklore, Tengu, honestly this is just me indulging in my magic au hcs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 06:47:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,958</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29132436</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyugapineapple/pseuds/hyugapineapple</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The moonlight was casting thin shadows over long, winter willow branches and bushes of lavender. In the midnight darkness, the silvery leaves of the trees sparkled almost as if delicate, icy strings were wrapped around the stems to give them a surreal glow. The light purple flowers growing by the tree swayed slowly in the breeze of the night, and if you looked closely, you could almost think that the thin, silky strips of green were dancing to a whispered song.</p>
<p>All around the wide meadow, lanterns that looked like huge dandelion bulbs sat on boulders and tree trunks, and cast pale, golden light on the grass clumps underneath them. They formed a rough circle, not too wide, but just enough to keep the nosy fire foxes and curious does from stepping over the boundaries. After all, it is forbidden for non-fae beings to step in the middle of a ritual circle. Especially if it was the night of Beltane.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akaashi Keiji &amp; Bokuto Koutarou, Akaashi Keiji &amp; Kuroo Tetsurou, Akaashi Keiji &amp; Sugawara Koushi, Bokuto Koutarou &amp; Sugawara Koushi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Beltane</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>As some of you might know, I have it weak for fairy/witch Akaashi AU, so here is another drabble to enjoy. </p>
<p>I highly recommend you to listen to this while reading. 100% guarantee you'll have an even better experience. <br/>https://open.spotify.com/track/4THxZ3JCxexSaTD8iDSPYH?si=VhW_CvGHSyWTcnEABlr9kg</p>
<p>Happy reading!<br/>- - - - <br/>Explanatory notes: </p>
<p>Beltane or Beltain (/ˈbɛl.teɪn/) is the Gaelic May Day festival. Most commonly it is held on 1 May, or about halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Beltane honours Life. It represents the peak of Spring and the beginning of Summer. Earth energies are at their strongest and most active. All of life is bursting with potent fertility and at this point in the Wheel of the Year, the potential becomes conception.</p>
<p>Bard - In Celtic cultures, a bard was a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or noble) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities. With the decline of a living bardic tradition in the modern period, the term has loosened to mean a generic minstrel or author.</p>
<p>Tengu - Tengu are a type of legendary creature found in Japanese folk religion. They are considered a type of yōkai (supernatural beings) or Shinto kami (gods). The tengu were originally thought to take the forms of birds of prey, and they are traditionally depicted with both human and avian characteristics. The earliest tengu were pictured with beaks, but this feature has often been humanized as an unnaturally long nose, which today is widely considered the tengu's defining characteristic in the popular imagination.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The moonlight was casting thin shadows over long, winter willow branches and bushes of lavender. In the midnight darkness, the silvery leaves of the trees sparkled almost as if delicate, icy strings were wrapped around the stems to give them a surreal glow. The light purple flowers growing by the tree swayed slowly in the breeze of the night, and if you looked closely, you could almost think that the thin, silky strips of green were dancing to a whispered song.</p>
<p>All around the wide meadow, lanterns that looked like huge dandelion bulbs sat on boulders and tree trunks, and cast pale, golden light on the grass clumps underneath them. They formed a rough circle, not too wide, but just enough to keep the nosy fire foxes and curious does from stepping over the boundaries. After all, it is forbidden for non-fae beings to step in the middle of a ritual circle. Especially if it was the night of Beltane. </p>
<p>Because the day of Beltane is the time when the spirits are the closest to earth and the power of the moon is at its peak. It's the edge of spring and summer, when the energy of nature is brimming and witches, fairies, shamans and any other blessed beings of all kinds have the strongest magic. The heaviest, most difficult rituals and spells are cast on the night of Beltane, because it is said that the goddess itself gives one her blessing. </p>
<p>Somewhere away from the circle of lanterns, a figure watched over, the beech tree he climbed on being tall enough to offer him a good observing place. Taking off the cloak of his leather robe, he revealed his ashen, almost white hair to the round moon above. Brown eyes followed every movement of the man working in the circle, memorizing the sequence of his steps and gestures he made. He was so focused watching that his figure leaned forward, chin leaning into his palm, and light gray eyebrows furrowed. The black linen bag sewn with green and gold dangled from his shoulder, but he made sure to grip its strap tightly and not to let it fall right on the hard ground beneath him.</p>
<p>The bard was so entranced into the performance that was unfolding in front of him that he almost jumped when he heard a flutter of wings – large wings, judging by the ruffling sound of the leaves and branches around him. He only had to look to his right, where he felt a foreign weight pressing on the thick tree branch, that he saw who the sudden visitor was. Massive, black and white wings folding to his back, Bokuto the Tengu grinned, flashing his white canines.</p>
<p>“Yo, Suga. Still on Akaashi’s tail?” The winged creature asked, hunched over his knees in a very bird-like style. His hair, ruffled from the wind that blew through it in his flight, was almost identical to Sugawara’s, if not for the black strands that mixed with his white bangs – the pattern almost identical to the plumage of his wings. He wore black and golden garments, a pair of pants that ended below his knees and tied with straps of yellow fabric around his waist. On his wide shoulders and torso – a black vest made of the same material as the pants, trimmed with golden threads and feathers. It had a large cut on his back to offer his wings space and it was tied tightly around his middle, covering the yellow belt that secured his trousers. Still, it offered quite the view of his burly chest and the faint scars marking his skin. His legs, enormous owl claws that gripped the branches in a firm hold had feathers and leather straps wrapped around them.</p>
<p>Eyes bright, gleaming like liquid gold rested on the human’s form, on his delicate features and the small beauty mark under his eye, his plain, green blouse underneath the untied robe and his brown pants. He was dressed less extravagantly, unlike Bokuto, save for the dangling charm made of feathers, sparkling, glassy rocks and bones that hung from his left ear, and the swirls of dark and red ink that crept up from under the collar of his blouse up to his neck.</p>
<p>“I have to if I want to finish my ballad.” Sugawara shrugged, then yawned and returned Bokuto’s grin with a cheeky wink. “Stories of faes and magic always pay off the most. My sleep is worth sacrificing if I get to observe a summoning ritual from up close. A summoning ritual on the night of Beltane at that.”</p>
<p>Koutarou laughed, noticing the dark circles that were indeed giving the bard a very tired look. “You know you can ask Akaashi to tell you about what faes do. He likes you, he wouldn’t refuse.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, yeah-” the other waved his hand and shook his head, refusing the idea instantly. “Akaashi is nice and really kind, but it’s one thing to ask a fairy to tell you about their rituals and customs, and a completely different situation to witness the summoning of a demon in its raw, natural state.”</p>
<p>“How come? Keiji wouldn’t lie to you about things.”</p>
<p>“He won’t.” Suga shushed the Tengu, motioning his hand to the field in front of them. “But it’s different. Look.”</p>
<p>And Bokuto, whose plan was to meet Akaashi and spend the rest of the night with him but stumbled upon a ritual, instead, nodded once and followed Suga’s stare intrigued.</p>
<p>Right in the middle of the circle, a silhouette was busy placing utensils all over the green grass. Bowls with crimson dust, bottles holding clear and opaque liquids, half-burnt candles, knives, and blades thrown on a piece of old, scraped piece of dragon leather surrounded him. Scrolls and ancient books, peppered with jewels and runes on their covers lay open, and hushed incantations and formulas were whispered into the warm summer air.</p>
<p>His red cloak swaying with every move, Akaashi Keiji counted each step in his mind over and over again, checking, for the millionth time, if everything was done correctly. Summoning the demon of war was, after all, a very delicate matter. A delicate matter that required quite the appropriate attire, too, to honor the demon. Hence why, instead of his usual clothes, the male picked silk and velvet, a crimson ceremonial blouse with silver thread and rubies sewn on the collar and the line of the cleavage. Black pants tailored to hug the curves of his legs perfectly, expensive, black boots with fur and golden chains dangling by his ankles. Rings and bracelets with moonstones, emeralds, and fog crystals decorated his fingers and wrists, clinking softly whenever he moved his hands. Ink, black as his curly hair, was deeply engraved into his skin. It revealed charms and enchanted runes peeking from under his cloak and sleeves, on his neck, arms, and even his cheek. He looked dark and brimming with magic – the perfect prototype of a powerful fairy prince descended from the ancient eras, with pale skin and teal blue eyes staring at the old, old moon.</p>
<p>Perfect for Suga’s story, Bokuto, with an astonished expression, concluded.</p>
<p>Convinced that he had all the instruments in his vicinity, the fairy knelt on the ground and began to work. Trying to hold back from panicking, he grabbed a wooden brush with a surprisingly delicate tuff of black hair at the top, dipped it into ink, spread a large scroll on the flattened stone that lay at his feet, and began to draw. Rune after rune was painted, and he kept chanting words of long-forgotten tongues, feeling how the air around him thickened and vibrated, stronger and stronger with each whispered verse.</p>
<p>It wasn’t done until he finished drawing the last symbols and the scarlet diagram that Akaashi finally stood up again, holding one of the perfectly polished daggers in his fist. He was trembling, even if just a little. The moment was close.</p>
<p>“Spirits of the darkness and light, above and beneath me, dead and alive. Listen to me.” He spoke with a louder voice, straightening his posture and clenching his fists, trying to keep his calm. “I am coming to you tonight, to grant me a wish.”</p>
<p>A light move of the blade and a cut appeared on Akaashi’s immaculate palm. The blood that trickled down from the wound landed right on the diagram and mixed with ash and bone dust. It got the attention of the spirits, it seemed, because instead of soiling the parchment paper, the mixture burned it, leaving nothing but the carbonized outline of the drops.</p>
<p>“I demand,” Akaashi announced louder, raising his wrist and meeting the moonshine with a frown. “I demand to see Ir’othan, the fallen angel, he who is now a demon of the war.”</p>
<p>“No-” Bokuto, still seated in the beech tree mumbled, eyes widening when he heard the fairy’s request. Next to him Suga chuckled almost bitterly at the pain in Bokuto’s tone but didn’t say a word. “He… He died. He can’t be summoned-” Koutarou insisted, more for himself, as the color drained from his face. His chest tightened at the memory of his fallen friend, but disbelief and a frail drop of hope kept his eyes fixated on the ritual. Suga knew. That's why he came to the ritual - to see if his own summons helped Akaashi find the demon's soul. But before Bokuto could say anything else, Akaashi’s booming voice interrupted him.</p>
<p>“I demand you to let me summon him, the one who is made of darkness and power, he who goes by the name of Kuroo.” Another slash of the blade and the next cut formed a bloody “X” in his palm. A pause, thin lips pursed to hide their trembling, while determined eyes eyed the scroll, following the warm blood dripping on the diagram.</p>
<p>“Come!”</p>
<p>For Suga’s mortal eye, everything happened way too fast. First, he saw Akaashi, offering his blood and calling for someone who was considered dead for years. He saw a blade and mysterious, blue flames consuming the offered blood. He heard Keiji basically shouting his request, and he felt the desperation in his voice. He heard Koutarou’s gasp, and from the corner of his eye, he saw his body stiffening, wings larger than four men slowly spreading, as if to prepare the Tengu to lunge to the fae.</p>
<p>The next thing – fog exploded from the scroll. It was red, thick, and heavy, and it spread fast. It filled Akaashi’s lungs to the point that it hurt to breathe. Still, he didn’t scream once, eyes always fixed on the place where the same scroll was supposed to be. The red smoke was too thick for Keiji to see through it, but his gaze never wavered. “Come!” he kept demanding, squinting at the vapors surrounding him. “Tetsurou, come to me!”</p>
<p>And he did come.</p>
<p>When the fog began to disperse, the whole meadow spectated how among waves of red mist, a figure materialized from thin air. Suga and Bokuto watched in disbelief how a head with hair as black as the sky above, ruffled and combed messily appeared from the fog. Their eyes followed the way the body got cleared from the vapors surrounding it, revealing a gray robe and Kuroo’s tall, imposing form.</p>
<p>Akaashi, instead, saw a pair of red eyes, staring back at him amidst the vanishing steam. Stark, red pupils, jet black hair, and the same, very familiar smug, but somewhat gentle smirk he last saw so long ago. The fairy sighed relieved and covered his mouth to hold back his sob with a trembling hand when he heard the voice speaking and a pair of long arms reaching for him.</p>
<p>“I’m here, Keiji.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading!<br/>How'd you like it?<br/>Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!❤️<br/>Chat me on <a href="https://twitter.com/hyugapineapple">Twitter!</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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